Tuesday, January 27, 2009

MAD announced that starting with issue #500 in April, it will move to a quarterly publication schedule from its current monthly schedule.

Editor John Ficarra: The feedback we've gotten from readers is that only every third issue of MAD is funny, so we've decided to just publish those.To read more, step over here. (Matt Brady / Newsarama.com) Thanks, Aggles!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Today I got up at 4:00 a.m. and drove to Dunnellon (86 miles away) to see seven Whooping Cranes being led by Ultra lights to their wintering grounds. They have 1 more leg of 26 miles to go and the Whoopers will be (finally) at their wintering grounds. The migration took unusually long (3 months). The team split the 14 birds up into two groups. One group is wintering in St. Marks and the other at Chassahowitzka. It was 19 degrees Fahrenheit ... but spectacular. Larry had an appointment and could not go with me so I had to take the pictures. I wore my black BB underwear.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Linda DavickFor a week I've been drawing all kinds of things in Facebook using Graffiti. I never realized–until Deb posted a dog I drew for her–that you can play your graffiti back and watch it being drawn. I was astounded when I saw my dog drawing itself on her blog and I begged her to tell me how she had animated it. I need to get some sleep.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Today we're having a guest photographer named Tom Davick. I couldn't go outside so he had to take a picture for me. Thank you, Tom. And thank you for going to the store and buying Barbara's Shredded Oats so I'll have something for breakfast tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Chris Georgenes is the king of Adobe Flash. (We all know Sally's the queen.) Often when I have an emergency question and Sally's at the race track, I try bugging Chris.

Last time I emailed him I added a p.s:Do you use a Mac or a PC?

Chris:PC.

Me:Do you use a PC because it's a better machine for animation?

Chris: I wouldn’t say better – I look at it like Ford vs Chevy – they both are good platforms that get the job done. When I worked at an animation studio we were PC based except for the editing machines which were Mac (Avid). We used a dos based program called Animator Pro (defunct). So I got started in the world of computer animation on PCs.

The main reason today is because they are so darn cheap – since I do animation I always need the high end machines and they are quite expensive when you max out an apple. My newest machine is a custom built one – I ordered the components from www.newegg.com and built it myself (uber geek). Now I have an ultra fast machine with a clean operating system (win xp) and none of the popup ads and trial software that comes bloated on pre-built machines.

My therapist had a new laptop. It was an HP and he had assured me that he would never be seen in public with it. One day at the end of a session I convinced him to show it to me. He reluctantly opened a drawer in his desk and there it was. I shook my head and walked out the door.

A few weeks later I sat back down on his couch. He excused himself to go get a drink. I was alone in the room. Suddenly I remembered I had a sheet of Apple Computer decals in my bag.

I didn't think. I simply saw what needed to be done and acted. I jumped up, opened his computer drawer, placed the decals on top of his computer, and sat back down–all before he reappeared.

To make a long story short: If you go to a psychotherapist it probably isn't such a great idea to go through his desk drawers while he's out of the room.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Last night we were invited to a New Year's Celebration at Anne & Peter's. (We're running a little behind.) We got to see four of Anne's new paintings and finally were able to convince Peter play the piano for us. He played a few songs, and each time he'd begin one Carmen would jump up and put her paws on his shoulders. My favorite was his last one–That's All–and the way he jumped up from the piano when he finished it and declared: "That's All!"

It was a magical evening in every sense. Not to mention the dinner which was not only vegetarian and wheat-free, but somehow delicious. (Tamales, buckets of salsa and guacamole, salad, zucchini, wine, ice cream, and chocolate.)

I'm fine now. Sorta. Trying to change my focus and just remember the really good things about the trip. How are you?I hope you get a quiet moment to kiss off 2008 tonight. 2009 is going to be a much better year.

When I got this email from Aggles yesterday, I wrote her back and asked her to tell me the good things she remembered about our trip. At the same time, I thought I would list the good things that I remembered about our trip:

• One night after Mom was in bed, standing under the stars (very bright) with Aggles as she pointed out Orion to me. The Seven Sisters were up there, too.

• The big fireplace with an on/off switch that absolutely fascinated Mom

• The clerks at Bi-Lo the day after Christmas. (One carded me. I told her how pleased I was even though I knew she had to card everybody buying beer and we proceeded to have a lively exchange of carding stories). Another clerk came over to load my groceries and she expressed dismay at how busy it was. She said, "I thought everyone would be at all the good stores like Belk the day after Christmas." There were maybe six cars in parking lot and the store appeared empty to me.

• The extraordinary takeout bar-b-que sandwich from Kevin Brown's that came with the fat french fries from heaven.

• I want to take a nice portrait of Mom, Aggles, and me. We decide that the best place would be on the front porch, although it's a little chilly and the wind has picked up. We bundle Mom up and are waiting til the last minute to bring her outside. As I come in to get her, she says: "Wouldn't one of these poinsettias look lovely in in the photo?" We're delighted at her great art direction, and set a little table up for the flowers.

• Calling Clare, the owner of the cabin, and asking if we could pay a late fee the next day, as we could not fathom getting Mom up and dressed and the car packed by 10:00 a.m. Clare telling us to stay as long as we wanted–that in fact her husband had just suggested she call and tell us we could stay an extra day for free.

• The Holiday Inn Express that Aggles made me stay in, even though I would only be there for 6 hours. (I had planned to stay on Mom's couch and get up at 4:00 a.m. to go to the airport on my last day.) I was so happy to be in that little room that I walked back and forth for at least an hour touching things and moving things around and taking photos of the bed and things in the bathroom.

the harder things

• Mom telling me she was afraid she was getting a cold when I first arrived to help her pack for our stay at the cabin. Her being scared to go to the cabin: "We're not sure what it has in it! Does it even have heat?"

• Mom's anxiety in the car about getting lost on the way to the cabin. (She has every reason to be anxious with me driving–especially somewhere I've never been, as I have a worse sense of direction than she, and no TomTom.)

• Once inside the beautiful cabin, Mom's saying over and over that she doesn't deserve this–that she's not good enough.

• As Christmas Eve dinner was being served, sitting with Mom in the bathroom while she was ill.

• Tom drives down to spend Christmas Eve with us. Helping Mom get ready for bed that night: "That man out there–is he your husband?" "Yes, Mom! Who did you think he was?" "Well he doesn't seem like your husband!" Me (very curious): "What do you mean, Mom?" "Well ... I thought your husband was kind of a smart aleck. This man seems taller. And ... dignified." (Maybe the gray hair is a good thing.)

• The same evening: "Did I know you when you were in high school?" "Mom, you knew me long before I was in high school. You knew me from Day One. You're my mother!"

• Christmas Eve is my dad's birthday. In the bathroom with Mom that evening helping her get ready for bed: "I wish Kenneth could be here. I wonder why he died?"

• Every night after helping her get ready and get in bed, we would go over again where everyone was sleeping in the cabin. "Where are you sleeping?" she'd ask. "Right down the hall," I'd reply. "That way?" she would point. "Yes." "That's up the hall, to me." "Oh, OK then. I'm sleeping up the hall." "And where is Margaret sleeping?" "Right across the hall from you." "And ... isn't there another person?" "No, there's just the three of us." "Who's sleeping up there?" She would point to the ceiling. "No one! There's not a room up there." "There's not a room above me? Where is Clare sleeping?" "She has another house on Signal Mountain where she lives."

• The mornings. We would come in to get Mom up, and she would say: "I don't want to get up. I want to die." "Well that's tough, Mom. You're getting up! It's not easy for any of us to get up in the mornings." "But Honey, I'm not good for anything." "That's crazy, Mom. Please don't say that. It makes me feel terrible."

• Mom's asking "What am I supposed to be doing now?" was probably the hardest thing.

• Kind of funny: Her "Are we eating again? Why are we eating again? It seems like all we do is eat!"

•••••••••••••Last night I was walking on the beach and my phone rang. "Hello, Hon! I wanted to be the first to wish you a Happy New Year!"It was Mom.Will somebody please explain this woman to me?!